Swedish Pirate Party wins a seat in the EU parliament; Swedish court uses the Pete Townshend defense in TPB appeals case. I think I'll just go to Finland next time.
We here at Tiny Mix Tapes like to keep you abreast on all matters copyright-related without making pirate jokes. This is why our news feeds are set to Swedish newspapers, even though we don't speak Swedish. The past two days in Sweden have taken an interesting turn on all matters copyright on two fronts.
First, the political. Across Europe, elections for the European Parliament, the EU's legislative body, were taking place over the last few days. Much of the press spotlight has been on the UK, where Labour was crushed in elections by the Tories and the Liberal Democrats. But we don't care about Gordon Brown and his ratty YouTube smile. We care about copyright, and that's why we're in Sweden: The Piratpartien (The Pirate Party), a party dedicated to copyright reform, scored fifth in the overall election with over 7% of the vote, higher than more significant parties such as the Left and Christian Democrat parties. This means the party is guaranteed a seat in the European Parliament, to be taken by the activist Christian Engström in the fall.
Immediately, the effects are very limited. Even if the proposed Lisbon Treaty was implemented, the most the the Pirate Party could pick up is two seats out of over SEVEN HUNDRED. The influence it has on the parliament will be minimal, at best. However, the impact over the longterm is much more significant. If one were to translate its place and vote percentage into next year's Riksdag (Swedish parliament) election, it would gain about 20 seats. For reference, the last Riksdag election was determined by precisely that many seats. In politics, they call that being a "kingmaker," which means the party could significantly influence policy. And though many more votes are at stake, the Pirate Party has a lot of momentum: It is the second largest party for the 18-34 age bracket and has the largest youth wing in Sweden (which means a lot more in Europe).
It also helps that the Pirate Bay trial remains in the news constantly, which brings us to our next front: Legal. Yesterday, in the appeals case for the Pirate Bay 4, the Svea Court of Appeal heard arguments from the Stockholm District Court, whose judge, Tomas Norstrom, presided over the trial. One of the key issues with the appeal concerns the judge, who was a member of two known Swedish pro-copyright organizations. TPB attorneys presented a case a few weeks prior that the judge's membership allegedly made him biased against TPB.
So what is the Stockholm District Court's defense of his pro-copyright membership? In a statement to the court, "The memberships are simply a means to gain increased knowledge of copyright legislation issues and are not therefore grounds to establish bias," and that "it is imperative that judges remain abreast of the issues." With all due respect to the Who guitarist, this sounds like the "Pete Townshend" defense: Claiming you were involved in inappropriate/illegal activity for "research" purposes. It's also trying cheat your way out of the system.
We will keep you posted with updates on each as the trial continues, and stay tuned for our new feature column, "Michael Engström går till Bryssel." Or not.
Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3 Out on September 11 – Bashing Auto-Tune is Officially Cool
Thanks to dodgy leaks and forthcoming Atlantic Records employees, Jay-Z’s The Blueprint 3 will be out on September 11, released on Mr Z’s own Roc Nation imprint and distributed by Atlantic.
The anti-climactic official announcement is rumored to take place at NYC radio station Hot 97's annual Summer Jam concert (or maybe he’ll choose another date because, y’know, rappers hate twitterers).
The Kanye West-produced record will be featuring an anti-Auto-Tune single, endearing Jay-Z to millions of purists but alienating the billions of devotees who read Tiny Mix Tapes’ star column: All That Is Solid. This, of course, officially makes Auto-Tune uncool because Jay-Z fuckin’ said so and he ain’t gonna take no shit from labels, Chris Brown, or washed-up has-beens. Just wanted to get that out there, yo!
RIP: Kenny Rankin
From Billboard:
Kenny Rankin, a brilliant pop vocalist and highly regarded musician-songwriter whose stylings ranged from jazz to pop to the world music influences he picked up as a child in New York, has died of complications related to lung cancer, his record company announced Monday. He was 69.Rankin died Sunday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Mack Avenue Records spokesman Don Lucoff said.
The musician, who first gained acclaim as one of the guitarists on Bob Dylan's landmark 1965 album, "Bringing it all Back Home," had been preparing to record an album of new material when he became ill a few weeks ago. Recording sessions scheduled with producer Phil Ramone were canceled as his health began to deteriorate.
- Kenny Rankin official website
- Kenny Rankin Wikipedia entry
Who Says Black Mountain Solo Projects Are Incapable of Harnessing the Power of Infinite Light? I For One Never Said That
Imagine yourself atop a black mountain. You are in Canada. Secretly. In the distance you see a cross-eyed Jaguar, known in zoology circles as a Jagjaguwar. Faintly you hear a dark and angelic, utterly haunting revelry. You may be stoned. You may be listening to Lightning Dust.
Joshua Wells and Amber Webber, both Black Mountaineers, are teaming up again to release their second album together, Infinite Light, on Jagjaguwar, following up their moody and ethereal self-titled debut of '06. The record hits stores August 4 in The States, August 3 in The U.K.
Tracks:
1. Antonia Jane
2. I Knew
3. Dreamer
4. The Times
5. Never Seen
6. History
7. Honest Man
8. Waiting on the Sun to Rise
9. Wondering What Everyone Knows
10. Taking It Home
Oh My Gosh: Blitzen Trapper Tour with Loch Lomond in the U.S., Announce European Tour Too
In its ongoing hunt for the ever-elusive reindeer that shares the band's name, Blitzen Trapper have announced an extensive tour that takes the band from the West Coast down through the Southwestern U.S. There's one stop in Canada at Vancouver's Richards on Richards, which is strange because one nary scopes a reindeer south of the 49th parallel. Stranger things have happened, though. Then, it's off to Europe.
Fellow Portlanders Loch Lomond join the Trappers on most of the U.S. dates, while the European leg sees them playing fests like Oya Natt, Way Out West, Haldern, Highland, and more
07.09.09 - Sacramento, CA - Harlow's #
07.10.09 - Visalia, CA - Cellar Door #
07.11.09 - Santa Barbara, CA - Velvet Jones #
07.12.09 - Hollywood, CA - Hollywood Bowl (with Jenny Lewis & Ray LaMontagne)
07.13.09 - Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up #
07.15.09 - Aspen, CO - Belly Up
07.16.09 - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater #
07.18.09 - Iowa City, IA - Picador #
07.20.09 - Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theater #
07.21.09 - Fargo, ND - Aquarium (Dempsey’s Upstairs) #
07.23.09 - Bozeman, MT - Filling Station
07.24.09 - Boise, ID - Neurolux (Portland Cello Project)
07.25.09 - Kennewick, WA - Red Room (The Quiet Ones)
07.30.09 - Vancouver, BC - Richards on Richards
08.01.09 - Mt. Scott, OR - Pickathon 2009 (@ 1PM)
08.02.09 - Mt. Scott, OR - Pickathon 2009 (@ 8:30PM)
08.11.09 - Finland, Helsinki - Tavastia Club
08.12.09 - Oslo, Norway - Oya Natt Festival (Andrew Bird)
08.13.09 - Gothenburg, Sweden - Way Out West Festival
08.15.09 - Haldern, Germany - Haldern Festival
08.16.09 - Utrecht, Netherlands - Ekko
08.17.09 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso
08.18.09 - Liege, Belgium - L'Escalier
08.19.09 - Antwerpen, Belgium - Bar Mondial
08.20.09 - The Hague, Netherlands - Paard van Troje
08.23.09 - Erfurt, Germany - Highfield Festival(Coke Tent)
08.25.09 - London, UK - Troxy $
08.27.09 - Dublin, Ireland - Vicar Street $
08.28.09 - Dublin, Ireland - Vicar Street $
08.31.09 - County Antrim, Ireland - Auntie Annies
09.02.09 - Cork, Ireland - Cyprus Avenue
09.03.09 - Galway, Ireland - Roisin Dubh
09.06.09 - Stradbally, Ireland - Electric Picnic
09.08.09 - Glasgow, UK - 02 Academy ^
09.09.09 - Newcastle, UK - Academy 2 ^
09.11.09 - Manchester, UK - Apollo ^
09.12.09 - Wiltshire, UK - End of the Road Festival
09.13.09 - Wales, UK - Clwb Ifor Bach
09.14.09 - London, UK - Barfly
09.15.09 - Luxembourg, Den Atelier ^
09.16.09 - Paris, France - Grand Rex ^
10.02.09 - Austin, TX - Austin City Limits (@ 8:30PM)
# Loch Lomond
$ Wilco
^ Fleet Foxes
New Tim Buckley Live Album Drops in August with Previously Unheard Songs
What’s worse than watching a young musical genius get cut down ruthlessly in the prime of his creative life? Seeing the exact same thing happen to that person’s young musical genius son. Although they met only once, father Tim Buckley and son Jeff shared many things through their melodious blood. Both had robust crowns of chestnut hair, both were packing fuckin’ Sistine Chapels in their throats, and neither one can be mentioned without inevitably drawing attention to the other. The son he never wanted, the father he never had, forever piggybacked upon one another through the annals of pop music. Goddamn, why hasn’t the legend of Buckley & Son been made into a One Life to Live story arc yet?
But on March 6, 1967, while four-month old Jeff was most likely sleeping and farting in his mother’s arms, father Tim, then only one album deep into his extraordinary career, took the stage at Izzy Young’s Folklore Center in Greenwich Village in front of a somber crowd of 35 people. That night, the senior Buckley played a mixture of songs from his 1966 self-titled debut and 1967’s upcoming Goodbye and Hello, as well as a half dozen tunes that never made it on any Tim Buckley record. That is, until August 25, 2009, when Tompkins Square Records releases a completely restored recording of the show in its entirety. Packaged along with a previously unpublished interview with Buckley conducted by Young, on paper Live at the Folklore Center appears to be a much-needed early account of a challenging artist whose body of work has only become difficult with the passage of lives and time. So how's bout it, Buckheads? Excited? I know I am!
Tracklist:
1. Song for Jainie
2. I Never asked to Be Your Mountain
3. Wings
4. Phantasmagoria in Two
5. Just Please Leave Me #
6. Dolphins
7. I Can’t See You
8. Troubadour
9. Aren’t You the Girl
10. What Do You Do (He Never Saw You) #
11. No Man Can Find the War
12. Carnival Song
13. Cripples Cry #
14. If the Rain Comes #
15. Country Boy #
16. I Can’t Leave You Loving Me #
# indicates previously unreleased Tim Buckley composition
Dates Announced for The Gories & Oblivians' Joint Reunion Tour; Garage Rocker Nerds Far and Wide Cream Shorts in Anticipation
The Gories and Oblivians, two prototypical garage-rock bands from the '80s and '90s, are going on a mini-reunion tour this summer, hitting Memphis and Detroit before heading off to Europe.
Wha?! you say. Why now? you continue. Why don't I live in either of those places?!... or Europe... Don't ask me, I just report the news. What do I look like? A journalist? I have no clue -- recession, swine flu, Obama -- anything could be behind this...
I could say something like: Mick Collins and Greg "Oblivian" Cartwright were riding their horses through the dusty streets of the motor city, heading to Memphis, TN, when Greg turned to Mick and asked, "Hey Mick, you wanna go on tour?" Mick nodded his head and squinted into the horizon, whispering, "You think our epic first groups could reform? I mean I love The Reigning Sounds, don't get me wrong, and I'm having a lot of fun with The Dirtbombs and reading comic books and stuff, but wouldn't it be great to have a reunion tour? Like The Spice Girls or The Police." "Well, sure," Greg nervously replied, "but we haven't spoken or played with those guys since the mid- to late-'90s. Do you think it could happen? Because that would be rad–" but before the word "rad" could turn into "radical," Jack and Eric Oblivian, Dan Kroha, and Peggy O'Neill descended down upon them in a cloud of smoke and in harmonic fourths cried, "Yes, we can," and everyone went, "awww."
Yep, I could say that that, but it would be a lie. Truth is, I don't know why, just know when.
Here are the dates:
06.19.09 - Memphis, TN - Hi-Tone
06.20.09 - Memphis, TN - Hi-Tone
06.27.09 - Detroit, MI - Majestic Theater
07.03.09 - Madrid, Spain - Sala El Sol
07.04.09 - Bilbao, Spain - Kafe Antzokia
07.05 09 - Barcelona, Spain - Sala BeCool
07.06.09 - Bordeaux, France - BT59
07.07.09 - Paris, France - Maroquineri
07.08.09 - Groningen, Netherlands - Vera
07.10.09 - Nottingham, England - Blast Off Festival
07.11.09 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso
07.12.09 - Gierle, Belguim - Sjock
07.13.09 - Dikmuide, Belguim - 4AD
07.14.09 - Munster, Germany - Gleis 22
07.15.09 - Berlin, Germany - Festaal
07.16.09 - Munich, Germany - 59:1
07.17.09 - Ravenna, Italy - Hana-Bi
07.18.09 - Torino, Italy - Spaziale Festival
The Clean Names New Record Mister Pop, Paying Tribute To the Greatest of All Generic Sodas
I was walking through my local grocery store the other day looking for some generic cereals and sodas, and I'm pretty damn sure I saw a 12-pack of something called Mr. Pop, which is of course a knockoff of Mr. Pibb, which is of course a knockoff of Dr. Pepper. Mr. Pop was not "calling" me that day, so I went with an even-better titled ripoff soda (called Mountain Holler, an obvious ripoff of Mountain Dew), but, hey, it just so happens to also be the title of The Clean's newest album. On September 8, New Zealand's famed jangly punk band The Clean will release an album titled Mister Pop, its first new studio album since 2001's Getaway. According to a press release:
Mister Pop sees The Clean continue the great pop pastiche. Circus ragas (“Moonjumper”), gorgeously hazy sunset anthems (“In the Dreamlife You Need a Rubber Soul”), and the sometimes-loose Dada approach to wordsmithery continue right alongside “proper” lyrical forays, and a few Autobahn-referential instrumental moments to boot (“Tensile”). Bob’s love of pastoral UK folk has brought some added weight into the overall Clean equation, as does David’s Eastern and African guitar jones, though all this has always fit in with—and still constitutes—the total basis of the Clean sound journey.
If September 8 is too far away, you can get a little sneak peak on Merge's website, where you can download "In the Dreamlife You Need a Rubber Soul." Or better yet, here's Mister Pop's tracklist:
1. Loog
2. Are You Really On Drugs?
3. In the Dreamlife You Need a Rubber Soul
4. Asleep In the Tunnel
5. Back In the Day
6. Moonjumper
7. Factory Man
8. Simple Fix
9. Tensile
10. All Those Notes
RIP: Jeff Hanson
From the Star Tribune:
His voice was sweet enough to often be mistaken for a woman's, and his songwriting was strong enough to earn him a deal with one of the country's most influential indie-rock record labels.Jeff Hanson's rising career came to a sudden end on Friday, when he was found dead at his apartment in St. Paul.
Hanson, 31, likely died from a fall or other accident at the concrete-floored apartment, which he had just moved into days earlier, said his sister, Sara Hanson. He was found by his parents.
- Jeff Hanson official website
- Jeff Hanson MySpace
- Jeff Hanson Wikipedia entry
Mario Speedwagon’s Under The Radar News Round Up: Jay Reatard Tours, Pete Yorn Tours, Temporary Residence Signs Black Heart Procession And Pinback, Arbouretum Tours, Yo Mama Tours
Before I get into the news, I want to talk about this band photo that my friend Cody found:
Now, I see a lot of promotional photos -- some good, most terrible -- but this one really takes the cake. It’s the kind of band photo you’d see on Rock And Roll Confidential’ in the Hall Of Douche Bags section. One of the first things I noticed was that three of them have soul patches (if you don't know my thoughts on soul patches, my thoughts are "Ew.") Then I noticed that three of them have HIGHLIGHTS and two have the "Rachel" haircut. Finally, where the hell do you find jackets like that? (For your information, I didn’t really notice all this stuff in that order. My immediate reaction was “OH MY GOD” and then only after I cleaned up the brains that had leaked out of my ears after my brain exploded did I dissect the douche-baggery. Whoa.)
- Speaking of “Reatards,” Jay Reatard will release his new album Watch Me Fall in August 18, 2009 via Matador Records. He’ll be celebrating early by heading out on tour in June and July. The tour kicks off in San Diego, CA at the Casbah and ends in Oxford, MS at Proud Larry’s. Most of the dates are with TV Smith f the Adverts. You can check out a full list of dates at the Matador website.
- Yesterday I got this super sad letter from Performing Songwriter basically saying that its June 2009 issue was its last. RIP Print media. While flipping through its last issue, I found an article on Pete Yorn and felt bad, because I had no idea Pete Yorn still did stuff. That being said, today I thought I’d make myself feel better by writing about his tour and his new record that comes out June 23, 2009 via Columbia Records called Back and Forth. On July 9, he’ll kick off his tour in San Diego, CA at the House of Blues and continue on until August 28 in Los Angeles, CA at the Henry Fonda Theatre. Check out all the dates at his official site. I’m an elitist, snobby bitch. Sorry Pete.
- Temporary Residence Limited, home to Bellini, Explosions in the Sky, Maserati, Mono, and a few others, is now home to The Black Heart Procession (and thus, Three Mile Pilot) and Pinback. Black Heart Procession have tour plans in the fall and will release a new record in October. Pinback are working on a new record, slated for some time in 2010.
- Arbouretum kicked off their tour yesterday in their hometown of Baltimore in support of their latest release Songs of the Pearl (TMT Review). Today, they’ll play the Norva in Norfolk, VA and a few more dates in the U.S. before heading over to Europe for a few other shows and festivals. More details can be found on the Thrill Jockey website.
One more time.
PS: I’m pretty sure the “dude” second in from the left is a chick.
Wal-Mart to Shut Down DRM Download Servers While the Music from Terminator 2 Plays in the Background
This is it. I can already hear the strains of our readership's Crystal Castles ringtones as our Toby Keith-listening step-daddies and Josh Groban-adoring mommas frantically call our new-fangled smart phones about this DRM (pronounced "derm," right mom?) Download changeover thing that their neighborhood Wal-Mart store just sent them an email about. I might as well get you up to speed now, so you can calm the old folks down and get them off the phone before they invite you and your girlfriend to another dreadful dinner at Outback Steakhouse.
So, basically Walmart.com's music download store went DRM free in February of 2008, and surprise, surprise, now they're telling customers that they can no longer support the DRM-laden downloads that they eagerly sold them prior to the inevitable transition. This is, of course, no surprise to us young folk. You may recall that iTunes offered a paid upgrade to MP3s after it made the DRM-free transition and still supports the tracks it sold with DRM. And other download services like Napster and Rhapsody were forced to extend their transitions after complaints from consumers. Wal-Mart's changeover is, if anything, a little overdue.
But still, consider the email that got sent to Wal-Mart's customers, which states that on October 9, the company will shut its servers "that support protected songs and albums purchased from our site." Unless you back up your files by burning them to CD, you will "no longer be able to transfer your songs to other computers or access your songs after changing or reinstalling your operating system or in the event of a system crash." Okay. Now, think about how your mom uses the term CD and DVD interchangeably all the time. See? This is gonna be a mess. Below is the full text of Wal-Mart's email. After you read it, you should probably look at your Google Calendar and free up a Saturday sometime soon, cuz you've got some DRM songs to burn and some grade-C steak to choke down. Oh, and don't pick up a 10 pack of CD-Rs... from Wal-Mart.
Full text of Walmart.com's email:
We hope you are enjoying the increased music quality/bitrate and the improved usability of Walmart's MP3 music downloads. We began offering MP3s in August 2007 and have offered only DRM (digital rights management) -free MP3s since February 2008. As the final stage of our transition to a full DRM-free MP3 download store, Walmart will be shutting down our digital rights management system that supports protected songs and albums purchased from our site.If you have purchased protected WMA music files from our site prior to Feb 2008, we strongly recommend that you back up your songs by burning them to a recordable audio CD. By backing up your songs, you will be able to access them from any personal computer. This change does not impact songs or albums purchased after Feb 2008, as those are DRM-free.
Beginning October 9, we will no longer be able to assist with digital rights management issues for protected WMA files purchased from Walmart.com. If you do not back up your files before this date, you will no longer be able to transfer your songs to other computers or access your songs after changing or reinstalling your operating system or in the event of a system crash. Your music and video collections will still play on the originally authorized computer.
Thank you for using Walmart.com for music downloads. We are working hard to make our store better than ever and easier to use.
